One of the services that I offer is evaluating company leadership development programs. For one client, I interviewed several mid-level managers who are experiencing or completed one of their leadership programs.

From one particular interview, I discovered a flaw in their action-learning projects. Here’s what happened.

I’ve started a new mission: to demystify labels that professionals throw around that become normalized corporate jargon. Authentic leadership is one of those worth examining.

I’ve written about leadership myths and what leadership really means. I’ve even written about how useless all those leadership theories in helping me become a better professional. What I didn’t study in graduate school was authentic leadership.

Authenticity has more to do with being a strong professional than practicing leadership in a particular way.

Of the two words, authentic is more meaningful. Being authentic means that you reflect what you think and feel in what you say and how you act. In the counseling profession, it means having harmony between your thoughts and behaviors. …

To fuel your entrepreneurial services, you could use a marketing hook

In the current phase of my entrepreneurial journey, I’m asking podcast hosts if I can be a guest on their shows. Most hosts don’t reply, but a few scheduled interviews. When lucky, I’ll receive a rejection email with an explanation.

I want to share three reasons why one podcast host declined to have me as a guest. You might say that he gave me the hook idea.

Podcast host: “You need a marketing hook”

Here’s what happened during the Zoom call with the podcaster:

After getting to know each other, I made my pitch for being a guest, which the podcaster declined for three…

As an entrepreneur, I’ve achieved some accomplishments but mostly have had setbacks. I’m astounded by the path to what many call success. I’ve discovered more distractions, false trails, bumps in the road, and epic failures than I anticipated!

However, I have hope thanks to gaining ten insights into what being an entrepreneur means.

My intent is to let you know how several entrepreneurs, including myself, struggle and may not be as accomplished as we would like.

1. Expect to fail often

Expect to have frequent failures that can result in unanticipated debt. …

This is for anyone who manages people. Whether a VP, manager of managers, or a frontline supervisor, I want you to achieve the extraordinary.

I was just okay at practicing leadership

For sixteen years, I worked in corporate America. I started as an individual contributor developing training for auditors. As my career progressed, I managed project teams and soon founded and led a new training department. At company number four, I managed managers as well as a small documentation team. Throughout those years, I did okay, but I wouldn’t consider myself great at leading.

It wasn’t until I started studying leadership before I improved my leadership practices substantially. …

Near the end of February 2020, I thought I had the flu but later found out it was COVID-19. Fortunately, I didn’t suffer any Respiratory problems but did experience strong fatigue. When I felt better, I was surprised that the fatigue persisted and lasted until the beginning of August.

I thought I had fully recovered but was wrong. In mid-September, I started exercising again using an elliptical machine. After the first week, the fatigue returned.

If I worked out for 40 minutes, I’d suffer a heavy amount of fatigue the next day. After recovering, I’d work out again but suffer more fatigue. Since October, the fatigue hasn’t stopped. Some days were better than others, and I’ve even had a few days without symptoms. …

I’ve been out of graduate school and working in the business world for about 22 years. When I worked in corporate America as an employee, I’ve managed departments and teams, learned a great deal about working with others, and matured (arguable so). Reflecting on my graduate days, I thought about the courses that helped shape who I am today as well as those that didn’t.

That is when I recalled taking a course on leadership and management. The only memorable thing I can recall is that the textbook might have been green.

I’ve seen a few textbooks that professors use to teach leadership. In them, the authors use several pages to explain things like the Great Man Theory, Trait Theory, Contingency Theory, Transactional Theory, Transformational Theory, and so on. None of these helped me lead, and I’m not the right person to ask what each means. Few practitioners probably could honestly provide examples of when these theories influenced how they led teams. …

From writing the first word to making the last revision, I completed my second business book about leadership. In spite of struggling with COVID-19, other health issues, and fluctuating client work, I finished the writing process in one month.

While replicating what I accomplished within a month might be unfeasible, these six tips may help you accelerate your writing process.

The numbers

Without the front and back matter, I estimate that a typical business book has about 35,000 words or about 200 pages. In comparison, my book, What the Heck Is Leadership and Why Should I Care?, is between 40–45% in length:

Excluding front/back matter: more than 16,000 words in 80 pages
With front/back matter: more than 21,000 words in 121…